D60 or Corp14?

[vectorit]

I have managed to collect a few axles over time, all with the intention to go into my 68 K20 burb.

I'd like to get rid of some of them, and just keep the best front/rear that someday will go into the burb.

I have a Corp 14 axle that already has the spring perches moved for my 1968 K20 configuration. It is a full floater, and has the big drum brakes.

The other axle is a 1972 vintage GMC Dana 60.
It has light truck like brake drums, that are removable without pulling the axle shafts.

I am more partial to the Corp14, since overall it appears to be a beefier axle with just as beefy drum brakes.

Just thought I'd throw out this question that has been playing ping pong in my mind for a while, and see what everyone has to say so that it can help me keep what I intend to use as an upgrade some day to my Eaton HO-52.

[mrolds88]

Did you know that you are supposed to be able to swap in 14 bolt axles and internal diff parts into your H052/H072? Also you can put disc brakes on there too.

[vectorit]

I do know that there are some interchangeable parts between the corp14 and the HO-52, but unless I am mistaken the corp14 gears are not interchangeable to the Eaton.

Currently I am running 4.57 ratio, and I would like to change those to something that isn't so low and lets me move along faster than 65mph without getting into the secondaries. (Transmission is sm465).

[mrolds88]

You are correct. The gears don't interchange. Best gears you can get are4.10's. Might have to look into a GV OD unit or an NV4500 maybe?

[powerdriver 1958]

Chris .
My vote will be for the 14 bolt .Tough as nails (Gov loc is the exception) and if you decide to swap gears the Housing has adjustors instead of using shims behind the bearings on the carrier .

Last I looked you could get 3:42 gears sets if you were so inclined

[vectorit]

Thanks, that goes the way I have been leaning.
The 14FFBC I have is really nice. It was pulled from a '67 burb resto that ended up getting parted. So it is practically ready to go.

I just don't have much background on the D60's.
The axle came as a package deal when I bought the large hub D44 from the same truck.

If and when I decide to take the jump from 1968 OE to more modern equipment, I want to have the most options one could get when selecting an axle. I'm thinking things like gears, lockers, and parts from the Joe's parts store in the middle of BFE.

[obijuan]

A dana 60 rear is a great axle but typically 30 spline. Its not the strongest but its not bad. Lots of gears available for it and it can be made to 35 spline with boring the spindles out. And it looks the part under a 67-72.

14 bolt is very strong and cheap. The gov lock comment is moreso for the 10 and 12 bolt. The 14 bolt is so massive it rarely fails. It is also 30 spline but they're cut at different angle and are nearing 1.5" diameter. Comparable to the dana 35 splines. 14 bolt detroits are under 400 bucks. The highest 4x4 gear is 373. There is no matching front ratio higher than that.

Both excellent axles and both have their places.
Posted via Mobile Device

[andrewmp6]

Both are great rear ends but i would use the 14 bolt,What size tires you gonna run on it?

[vectorit]

Currently running a 33" tall 12.50 wide tire, but I plan to change those for a more narrow tire but same height.

[obijuan]

Id favor the dana 60 rear for ground clearance with a 33.
Posted via Mobile Device

[andrewmp6]

Yeah with 33s you might wanna shave the 14 bolt or use the dana 60.

[special-K]

I'd go with that 14-bolt. It's ready to go on your truck and brake parts will be far easier. I really don't think ground clearance is an issue,especially with 33s,in the real world.

[Redcap]

I would go with the 14bolt as long as it doesn't have a Gov-Bomb inside. Grenaded a few of those over the years.

[special-K]

I'm not scared of the G80. Never hurt one before. You just have to know what you have and drive accordingly. Beats a one-legger when things get slippery. Not everyone's building an extreme off road vehicle. It's just like automatic hubs,just gotta know how to use them. For serious wheeling I like manual hubs and Detroit Locker and in general like my trucks over-built,but I own a few 4wds and like having one with a bit better road manners. I have manual hubs and like to allow the G80 to get me out of the mud by itself. Feather that baby in and let 'er rip. Not too much or she'll disengage. Just let it do it's thing. The best part is,it's already in there!

[76k10]

Everyone thinks they can get by with failure prone G80s until they personally fall victim to blowing chucks through their rear end cover. When they day comes, you will really wish you listened. I'll take my 12 bolt with an Eaton carrier over a G80 14 bolt any day of the week.

[vectorit]

I've never used the G80, but from this discussion I did a little research.
They do look like a complex, and surprisingly fragile looking mechanism.

I don't need a traction devise in my burb (yet), since I don't wheel or DD in my Suburban on rough roads or trails.

[obijuan]

The 14 bolt 10.5" g80 is very stout. Not to be confused with its scattermaster little brother in the 8.5" ring.
Its an excellent unit and is strong, very predictable, and driveable.

If I were to go 60 it would get a powerlock.

[Redcap]

Originally Posted by 76k10

Everyone thinks they can get by with failure prone G80s until they personally fall victim to blowing chucks through their rear end cover. When they day comes, you will really wish you listened. I'll take my 12 bolt with an Eaton carrier over a G80 14 bolt any day of the week.

I have personally made one puke it's guts. My current build revision received a Detroit.

[Bigdav160]

I cannot see the 14 bolt gov loc "blowing chucks through their rear end cover" because the whole thing is inside the differential case



I just installed one in my 14 bolt FF

[argonaut]

Chris,
You know that I'm running that same large hub D44 front and 14BFF (w/ Gov-lok) rear in my 66. For me, the 4.11:1 with 35" tires is a good ratio for the little 402 big block. I assume you are trying to get 3.73:1 in with your 283 and 33x10.5 tires that you'll go to eventually.

I will say that the 14BFF is a heavy muther effer! and the carrier housing is very big around so sits very low to the ground. I don't know how the D60 stacks up in this regard but it could be a deciding factor.

What are your future plans with it? If not planning on a big powerful motor, or brutal offroading, or large diameter tires, or heavy towing, then I wouldn't worry so much about the ultimate strength of the axles, splines and locking devices, etc. but that is just me.

Because I have a weird engineering brain I think it would be cool to have matching Dana60 front and rear, that's if you were ever planning on going to a D60 front. But again, a D60 front probably isn't that necessary unless doing heavy offroading or towing.

[Hoods69BadBowTie]

I say go with the 14bolt. Have had 2 or 3 in mild off-road rigs over the years and never had any big issues. I like that finding parts are easier for them. That's just my input.

[ryanroo]

ill vote 14 bolt simply because there are 1.7 jillion of them all over the place. but from a strength and use standpoint, either will work fine for you. the other thing i would be inclined to look at is brake part availability. if the OEM brakes are hard to find parts for on the 60, id avoid it. the 14 bolt was used in some form from 1973 through 2004-5ish. they are easy to find parts for.

my experience with G80s is that they are full of cute little parts but i have HAMMERED, and i mean ruthlessly, every one ive ever had. never blown one up. if there is nothing in there and you are looking for a traction aid, i would not use it unless i had no money and a free G80.

any plans for a front axle upgrade?

[vectorit]

Funny thing about this... Now the indecision has deepened for me.

I have a ready to go 14FF, and a D60 that I could bolt in now but would need freshening up.

For the front, I have a 1972 big hub disc brake D44 with 4.11 gears. This is the front that I want to someday swap in, to replace my closed knuckle D44 with drum brakes and 4.57 gears.

Here is where the indecision gets nuts for me...

I have a line on a freshened up Eaton HO-52 3rd member with 4.11 gears.
This will allow me to keep my Eaton HO-52, and then just swap in the 4.11 3rd member. Annd run the replacement D44 with 4.11's and discs without doing to much i.e. cost factor.

My mind thinks like this.
Get the new 3rd member with 4.11's (put aside the 4.57 3rd member).
Swap in the disc brake D44 front with 4.11's (Still be able to move the 4.57's from the closed knuck into the replacement D44 if I wanted to).

So, a simple 3rd member change out in the rear and getting more leg on the gear coming from 4.57 to 4.11.
Upgrade the front with disc brakes on a D44 that already has 4.11 gears.

This is where I struggle.. I restored my burb to OE 1968 spec with all of it's original parts, but I want to drive it more often and not go broke on fuel and be the last one to the destination.
I love the Eaton axle, but the brakes bother me because they have been such a head ache for me in the past. Though they are dialed in, and I don't foresee any more problems (anymore than what any drum brake system would give anyways).
The front... Well, I look at that as a safety issue. Disc brakes will stop better than the drums after the drums have already been heated up from previous hard braking. So I am not so torn on upgrading the front axle.

To me it's an issue with changing big original parts out in a truck that has huge sentimental meanings with me. Silly things like, I can tell you how each and every dent, gouge, and any other mark is on parts like this got there.

If this was any other truck, all this would be a non issue for me. I would just upgrade away and not think anything about it.

But when your Pop's walks around the truck and points to the ground down selector switch, and laughs about the time I did that on a high curb because I panicked when the truck shut off in the middle of the night... Yea, silly things like that are hard to get past.

[ryanroo]

I was going to ask if you were opposed to the eaton for some reason. if you have a 3rd with the gears you want, id run it. if you have a good source for brake parts its a pretty burly unit. not to mention it is uniquely classic. so now that i have that info, i change my vote to HO52.

[argonaut]

Chris, maybe you mentioned it already and I missed it, but what is your desired gear ratio for the diffs? 4.11 ir 3.73, or something else?
Posted via Mobile Device